A Theme of Deception in Snow White Movies

Society has made people use deception to obtain what they want, because in society it is not about who you are anymore it is all about who they want you to be. This deception can be seen in both Snow White and the seven Dwarfs, and in Snow White and the Huntsman. Throughout both movies there are many similarities as well as many differences, but the topic that surrounds both films is deception. In the following paragraphs I will illustrate similarities and differences when it comes to both movies and their use of deception.

There are many similarities between the 1937 film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and the film Snow White and the Huntsman that came out in 2012. The first similarity I want to talk about is the character of the queen and the common similarity beauty. Walt Disney wanted a beautiful queen in his film as part of the reflection of the queen’s desire to be the fairest of all and her evil envy of Snow White. We shouldn’t forget that sometimes evil can be disguised as something beautiful. In both films the evil queen pretends to be nice. The queen used deception to gain advantage, and through this deception she became the ruler of the kingdom. She became snow white’s stepmother and was determined to get rid of snow white once in for all allowing her to be the fairest of all. The second similarity I want to talk about is the seven dwarfs using deception when they first encounter snow white. The deception came in the form of aggression. In the 1937 film by Walt Disney the seven dwarfs tied to kill snow white while she was asleep in their room. In the 2012 movie the seven dwarfs encounter snow white at the forest where they lived. The dwarfs trap both the huntsman and snow white in one of their traps and try to kill them until they found out that snow white was the princess. In both films the seven dwarfs changed their mind once they found out that they were dealing with snow white. The dwarfs acted in an aggressive way because they were protecting their territory and by acting tough, they were hoping to scare what they thought was an intruder. The third similarity I would like to talk about is going to be the Huntsman. In both films the Huntsman works for the queen and is sent to kill snow white. The huntsman uses deception while in the presence of the queen. He did this by pretending that he was a tough killer that did not care about human suffering. In both movies the huntsman changes his mind when he is about to kill snow white. Tricking the queen by leading her to believe that snow white was dead.

The other notable differences between the 1937 film and the 2012 film Snow White are their main supporting characters. The modern evil queen is given a name. The modern queen is shown as a killer being that she killed Snow White’s father on their wedding day and had Snow White imprisoned. The modern queen is also shown as and envy queen towards Snow White. She learns that she needs Snow Whites youth to become immortal. In the Disney movie the queen is seen as an envy evil queen who just wants to see Snow White dead, for her to be the only beautiful one. Even giving Snow White the poisonous apple would show two differing means of disguises or deception. The Disney queen took a potion to tune her into an old lady. In the modern film the queen metamorphoses into William, son of Duke who was Snow Whites childhood friend and who was in love with Snow White. The second difference between the films character would be the seven dwarfs. In the 1937 Disney’s Snow White the seven dwarfs were cute with cute names and charming personalities. The dwarfs were hard working little men who sang, danced, and lived their lives cheerfully. They were first surprised to see Snow White but would come to welcome her, love her, and even help her when the queen gave Snow White the poisonous apple. In the modern Snow White, the dwarves were badmouthed little men who like to drink and swear in front of anyone. They were mean but still assisted the huntsman in caring for Snow White, they looked out for her well-being. The third noticeable difference between both movies was the huntsman. The Huntsman in the modern movie is under command from the queen to kill Snow White, and in return she would bring back his dead wife whom he had lost. The huntsman learns from the queen’s brother, that it was a false promise from his sister and that he was just being used by the queen. This action made the huntsman become Snow White’s helper and protector. In Disney’s Snow White it is the prince whose kiss revives Snow White and marries her. The Huntsman is only seen at the beginning as the one who tries to kill Snow White but can’t and gives the queen a pig’s heart to trick her into thinking Snow White is dead. Once again using deception to pretend he is someone that he is not.

In conclusion, from the time we are born we encounter deception and lies everywhere. Deception has become a big part of the cultural and social norm around the world. We see deception even in movies that Disney makes. Take both Snow White movies for example, and deception is there from beginning to end. Society has made people use deception to obtain what they want, to lie and pretend to be someone they are not; therefore, society sees us not for who we are but they see us for whom they want us to be.